ROAR FOR CAVALCADE OF AUTHORS

Happy Children’s Book Week! And welcome to a Special Edition of Library Lions. This week we’re Roaring for the Cavalcade of Authors now in its 5th year!

The Skinny
Cavalcade of Authors yearly conference is dedicated to providing the secondary students of our region access to some of the best Young Adult authors of our modern era. Our special interest is to celebrate Pacific Northwest Authors while introducing students to a variety of genres and subject matter and to furthermore, promote reading and writing within our community. We provide for our participants an authentic writing conference experience where students can learn from the ultimate mentors: the authors of the books they are reading.

Cavalcade 2013 Authors

(Front Row Left to Right: Michelle Lane (Director), D.J. MacHale, Jeff Burlingame, Holly Cupala, Suzanne Selfors, Maureen McQuerry, Lisa McMann, Veronica Rossi, Brandon Dorman, and Kelly Milner Halls. Guadalupe Garcia McCall not pictured)

[All Cavalcade photos by Aaron Pelly Photography]

The Day Begins . . .   
Students arrive by 8:00 at Columbia Basin College and are ushered to their first session by high school student volunteers who know the campus.  The first session starts at 8:15 and lasts one hour.  Students attend three sessions of their choosing that they’ve signed up for through their school librarian.

Check out the wonderful workshops our Authors offered this year!

(Students arrive for Brandon Mull's workshop)

 

                                                      (Gregg Olsen's workshop)

(Kelly Milner Hall's workshop)

Students have 15 minutes in between sessions for autographing and connecting with the authors and passing time. 

 

                                   (Suzanne Selfors and Savannah, Gr.7, from Desert Hills MS)
 

                                                           (Lisa McMann signing)

(Veronica Rossi with students, Persephone D Angeli, Nelly Ruelas-Mendoza, Payton Griffith, and Elizabeth Fredrick)

Cheers for Cavalcade!

                             (Guadalupe Garcia McCall and Bianney, Gr. 8. Clara Brownell MS)

“I loved how many people attended [Cavalcade of Authors].  It was great to see so many students at my sessions!  I really loved showing them what I do to write, and sharing my experiences as a writer with them.  I also loved that I saw many Hispanic students there that I would not have reached otherwise.  Thank you. Cavalcade of Authors is a buzzing, lively hive where both students and authors can meet to discuss the most important of interests…reading good books.”  Guadalupe Garcia McCall

 

(Kelly Milner Halls)

“[I enjoyed most of all] the author dinner and hanging out with all those great kids the day of the event.  It was all terrific. Sharing in the wonder that was the Cavalcade of Authors may have been a job, technically.  But it was so much more.  Speaking to hundreds of eager young people at a well-organized festival with more than a dozen other exceptional authors was a sheer pleasure.  The kids left with inspiration and warm memories.  The authors did, too.  Clearly, the Tri-cities population values their young people and the future that will soon be in their capable hands.  This was an exceptional experience, all the way around.”  Kelly Milner Halls

(Jeff Burlingame)

“Being a featured author at Cavalcade of Authors is like taking the stage to front a world-famous rock ‘n’ roll band for two days.  From the moment you arrive, its fun, fervor, and fantastic.  For students, attending Cavalcade of Authors is like being in the crowd when that band—your all-time favorite—performs in an intimate setting in your hometown for you and 1,000 of your closest friends.  Cavalcade of Authors isn’t just an excellent Eastern Washington conference.  It’s an excellent conference, period.”  Jeff Burlingame

                                                                   (D.J. MacHale)

“[With the Cavalcade of Authors] it’s all about the kids.  Being able to speak to such a large group of interested readers is a rare treat.  Usually during school visits, maybe 20% of the group really wants to be there.  With Cavalcade, it was 100%.  You can’t beat that.  Also, the entire event was buttoned up and well run.  That’s not always the case. The Cavalcade of Authors should be called ‘The Cavalcade of Kid Readers.’  Being able to speak to a thousand interested, engaged young readers is like author heaven.  I can’t wait to do it again!”  D.J. MacHale

                                                                     (Trent Reedy)

“I liked Cavalcade of Authors because, not only did it foster a love of reading and writing for young people, but it was a practical, useful opportunity for young writers to learn more about the craft of writing.  It was wonderful to see excited young writers carefully taking notes and working to improve their writing. Cavalcade of Authors is a good opportunity for young people to foster their own love for reading, and it is a great opportunity for young writers to get excellent writing instruction from some of the best authors of books for young people.”  Trent Reedy

                                                               (Jonathan Maberry)

“Michelle...I wish I'd been able to give you a big good-bye hug. This was such a wonderful event and I had the best time. You and your crew throw a first-class event --professional, smooth, and fun!  Although I've never been to the Tri-Cities area before, I can now say that I've made real friends here.  If I can ever be of assistance with future events, either as a presenter or as a resource to contact some of my colleagues, you have but to ask. Again...thanks for everything!  You so rock!”  Jonathan Maberry

Teachers’ Roars
“It’s simple.  Kids who like to read, read.  Cavalcade brings relevant, high-interest authors from near and far to eastern Washington.  Students who never dreamed they’d meet real authors, listen to their stories, learn first-hand about their craft, and interact with them personally get a chance to do just that.  My students devour the books.  They argue, share secrets, and quote them.  They are as affected, dazed, and amazed as if they were meeting rock stars.  In fact, they are.” – Doug Lane, 6th grade teacher, Enterprise MS

 

“It is so awesome to see so many of our kids get excited about reading because of your awesome event! I am even more amazed than last year at the level of interest and hope to see it continue to grow and grow as an opportunity for our students.”  Tammy Fisher, 7^th/ 8^th grade Reading Teacher, Clara Brownell MS

                                                    (Maureen McQuerry's workshop)

“Cavalcade gives students the opportunity to experience authentic writing from published authors.  Often, they discover a common bond with these people who get paid to write!” – Colette DeHaan, 7^th grade LA teacher, Enterprise MS

                                               (Jonathan Maberry signing)
Student Roars"They're known all around the world for their books and I actually get to go home and say I met an author. If someone's reading that book, [I can say], 'I've met that author.' That's so cool!," Elena, 9^th grade Chiawana HS

“It was nice to see a Hispanic author since I am Hispanic myself.”  Park MS

“[I learned] you’ve got to dig deeper in order to get where you want and what you want.”  Cristianna, Grade 8, Park MS

“[I was] inspired to never give up and write what you believe.”  Nicole, Grade 7, Park MS

                                                   (Mark, Gr. 7, Horse Heaven Hills MS)

“Cavalcade was like a treasure trove of advice on writing and how to keep enjoying it.  It has changed my view on how books are made forever.”  Sydney, Grade 6, Enterprise

“[Jonathan] Auxier’s session [was my favorite] because he included student interaction and as a group we completed a ridiculous, but funny story.” – Timmy, 7th grade

“I liked them all because they all were interesting and the information that they shared was really cool. Some things they share really inspired me.” – Adriana, 8th grade

Special Moments:
A student (Elena) from Chiawana High School during her session with Jeff Burlingame, was gifted a get up that much resembled Elvis. 

When she left Jeff’s session – she was walking through the crowds of kids shouting, “This is the BEST day EVER!!”  Later she was interviewed by the news station – it totally brought tears to my eyes.  I was so excited for her and proud of all our students who attended that day!

ONE LAST BIG ROAR On average our 800+ kids are reading 6 books between August and January to attend Cavalcade.  Many of them continue reading Cavalcade books long after the event is over.  These kids are spreading the word to others about the great books they are reading, creating a reading climate in our schools!

Also, Cavalcade sponsors a writing contest where three places are awarded for each of both High School and Middle School entries. 

                          (Vance, Gr. 8 Enterprise MS, 1st place Short Story Contest)

Let’s Link:

Cavalcade of Authors   
 
Cavalcade Facebook 
 

Stay Tuned for Cavalcade 2013 Part 2 coming to LL blog soon!

                                                                              ~  

Love Libraries? Give a Roar in “Comments” below.

Note to Librarians: If you’re a Youth Librarian working in a school or public library we’d love to hear about you and your library. If you have a Young Authors conference like Cavalcade you would like to highlight. We'd love to showcase your conference.
Contact Janet at jlcarey@hotmail.com for an interview slot. 

THE GREAT GUYBRARIAN!

Welcome to Library Lions interviews Raising a Roar for libraries and the outstanding librarians serving youth in schools and public libraries across the U.S. Please Roar today’s guest, the great guybrarian, Paul Warner!

My name is Paul Warner and I am the teacher-librarian for over 1,100 6^th – 8^th graders at Shahala Middle School in Vancouver, WA (right across the Columbia River from Portlandia!). The students call me JEDI WARNER the GUYBRARIAN because of my love of Star Wars and all things sci-fi fantasy. 

If you walk into our library you are likely to see books displayed with posters and life-size standees of sci-fi fantasy characters, kids learning with Mr. Warner using various film clips connected to sci-fi fantasy books, patrons listening to sci-fi fantasy instrumental music while they work and read, and you’re likely to be greeted by an enthusiastic Guybrarian dressed as a Jedi, a wizard, or some other fun sci-fi fantasy character.

The Skinny:  

What I love most about my work is connecting reading with fun activities. For example, every month we hi-light a different genre and promote books in that genre by making fun library videos for the whole school to see. We also make fun videos to promote new books available. Many students and staff love to be in these productions, and after the videos are shown those books start flying off the shelves! I have included Youtube links to a few of our videos below. 

Photo scene from school video

Youtube links:

To promote new books we received through purchases and donations, we made this video for the school: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IX6I6KkJD0

To promote the genre of mystery/horror we made this funny video for the school: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVW8ueEInLM

Video to promote our sci-fi family night & book fair event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaG-Ky96bCQ

Video after our sci-fi night to celebrate by showing everything we did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWYONaVNClw

We have the most fun of the year at our annual Sci-Fi Fantasy Family Night & Book Fair.

We do lots of activities like Lightsaber making

Costume contests

Trivia games, Origami Yoda, collectibles, projects connecting sci-fi and real science technology, and much more! 

This year Mr. Warner dressed as a Jedi Knight, Assistant Librarian Mrs. Royster became Princess Leia, and one of our teachers was Doctor Who! Plus we have special guests stop by from the 501^st Legion, an international organization of costumed Star Wars characters that have a local chapter nearby. Last year they brought a clone trooper and Darth Vader, and this year they brought Imperial stormtroopers and a real, life-size, working R2D2 robot that interacted with library visitors!

 

 

Library Laughs:

We’ve had a couple of really funny days in the library this year. One was on “Talk Like A Pirate Day” when I became a pirate and any kids who entered the library and talked like a pirate to me while checking out a book got some candy (“pirate booty”).

Then later this year we collaborated with our amazing ASB program to have an all-school “Dress Like a Book Character” Day!

We gave prizes to kids who checked out any book featuring the character they were dressed up as.  All day long the library was filled with laughs and smiles as Katniss, Batman, Laura Ingalls, Chewbacca, Ponyboy, Hogwarts students, pointy-eared elves, manga characters, various Avengers, Percy and friends from Camp Half-Blood, and some very entertaining Spongebobs checked out books about themselves!

It was also really funny to see the looks on the kids’ faces when they saw the Guybrarian’s character: Darth Potter. 

I couldn’t decide if I wanted to be Vader or Harry, so I combined them in one costume, held up books about both characters, and greeted kids with a deep voice stating: “Luke…I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!”

A Lion’s Pride of Programs:  

I really want visitors to know more about all the on-line tech tools and assistance we provide for our students and staff.  For research work and non-fiction reading we can help kids learn how to use databases such as Worldbook and eLibrary instead of just randomly searching the web, and help link kids up to ebooks and to professional, trusted web sources on any topic they need.  For presentations, I offer help for kids and teachers to create podcasts about books or topics of study, digital video book trailers, and presentations on any topic with the use of web tools such as Prezi, Glogster, Picmonkey, Pixton, Storybird, Tagxedo, Animoto, and Educreations. 

We’ve also started creating QR Codes on books to take readers on-line to author sites, book trailers,quizzes, interviews, and more. We are also proud of our after school Eagle Book Club in the library,which focuses especially on sci-fi fantasy books.

 

In addition to reading and discussing books together, we also create technology projects connected to the books by using many of the tech tools listed above.

After reading Ender’s Game, The Eagle Book Club made this book trailer video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w49-8-osTk

Readers Roar:

“Reading is awesome because it allows me to journey to Middle Earth, Camp Half-Blood, and other worlds, all without leaving my own land.” – Max (7^th grade)

“I like reading because you never know what will happen to the characters next, and sci-fi fantasy has such intense paragraphs.”  - Ruth (6^th grade)

“I love reading because it takes me to a place and time I can’t go in real life.” – Hibbah (8^th grade)

“Reading helps me imagine things.” – Damian (6^th grade)

“Reading is like a movie in my head.” – Caledonia (8^th grade)

“I can’t remember the last time I went to a library book fair, but I got so excited to go to the Sci-Fi Night that Jedi Warner planned!  After that I started reading some sci-fi!” – (6^th grade boy)

"I want to thank you for the Sci-Fi Family Night you hosted for the community.  I brought my son and we had a fantastic experience meeting some of his STAR WARS favorites. We loved visiting with other families, picking out books, and dressing up for the costume contest.  Even days later, my son is still talking about how wonderful the night was. You made his month!"   - Anna 

"Sci-Fi Family Night was a huge opportunity for students to see the two way connection between science and science fiction. That event, our library, and Mr. Warner have inspired students to read more and connected the science department to the library in new ways."  -  Mr. C. (8^th grade science teacher & parent)

“It was quite remarkable to see so many people at the Sci-Fi event that were energized about science fiction and reading! Great to see such a diversity of community members there with a wide range of interests participating in a common event around a shared love of science fiction books, movies, and games!  -  Mr. P. (8^th grade math teacher & parent)

Note to LL readers. Excuse the white background above. It's some kind of befuddling glitch! Thanks

 

“I have never before seen kids so excited about coming back to a school's library for an evening event, but they talked about the Sci-Fi Night and Book Fair as it approached and they were still talking days after it." -    Mrs. E. (8th Grade Language Arts & Social Studies teacher)

Book Brag: Currently, our most popular books are by Suzanne Collins, Rick Riordan, Veronica Roth, and James Dashner.  Collins’ Hunger Games series continues to be checked out by kids who saw the film but haven’t yet read the book, or students who want to read the sequels before the next films are released.  Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, Kane Chronicles, and Heroes of Olympus series are continuously checked out from our library.  Dashner’s Maze Runner series has become very popular and hard to keep on the shelf, and Roth’s Divergent and Insurgent are constantly requested.  I believe all these books are hugely popular because sci-fi fantasy stories of adventure or dystopian struggles have such great appeal to this age group, especially if the stories include a hero’s journey coming-of-age tale and the age of the characters in the books is close to the reader’s age too.

Author! Author!

This is only my third year in the library so I haven’t had very many author visits yet, but I really want to because during my 16 years as a language arts and social studies teacher I attended some great author visits and saw the positive affect they have on the kids.  I think the perfect visit involves the author reading some from her work, sharing about her own life, using a visual presentation, teaching about the craft of writing, and having a Q & A session about her books and reading & writing in general.  If time allows, I think it is great to have the kids actually do a little writing of their own while with the author.  I saw a writer do this once with a class of kids by getting them to brainstorm ideas to get down on paper and encouraging them to start keeping journals of ideas that could later develop into writing pieces; it was very inspiring to the kids and adults in the room who did actually start keeping writing journals after that visit. 

For me personally, my 3 favorite author visits have been:  (1) When Holocaust survivor Alter Weiner, author of the book From A Name to a Number, came to my library with stories and visuals to teach the students about the Holocaust;

(2) When Frank McCourt, author of Angela’s Ashes and Teacher Man, came to the high school where I taught and shared with the students about the importance of always asking questions in reading and in life;

and (3) When Henry Winkler, author of the Hank Zipser series (and Fonzie from Happy Days of course), came to a local bookstore and spent a few minutes 1-on-1 with my son to give him inspirational advice on how to be a writer (had a very positive influence on my son).

Photo Meeting Henry Winkler2

Library Lion’s Last Roar:

I want to roar loudly for all those school librarians & guybrarians out there who take the time to work with and teach lessons to the students.  Every week I am teaching whole classes and 1-to-1 with students about reading skills, research skills, writing skills, technology skills, presentation skills, and the important critical thinking skills needed so much in the information overload world we live in today.  Too often I run across folks who think all a school librarian does is sit at a front counter and check out books all day; therefore, they incorrectly and unfortunately view such a position as unimportant and expendable.  So I also want to roar for the Library Lions website and all the authors, teachers, principals, and students out there trying to spread the word in this country that our librarians are not expendable and are so much more than just book-checker-outers, but are actually professionally trained educators collaborating with classroom teachers and working with students on so many crucial skills today, in addition to the important job of helping them find books to read. 

Also, let’s roar for all the librarian hard work and passion that goes into reading promotions and community building and outreach, plus all the behind-the-scenes work of obtaining the right resources and reading materials for multiple subject areas and grades to help diverse young people with a wide variety of reading levels, interests, and needs.  I have always believed that librarians must have the magical powers of The Force in order to accomplish all that they do, but since joining their distinguished ranks I have begun to realize that librarians actually ARE The Force that keeps libraries working for kids.

Let’s Link:

Blog:  I would like people to know about my blog for sharing and learning about how today’s technology tools can be used in education.  It’s a Google blog called Educational Tech in the 21^st Century.  I would LOVE for people to go there and join up with my blog so we can share tech tools and ideas!  Here is the URL: http://21stcenturylearnerandteacher.blogspot.com/

Library Website: Our Shahala Middle School library website, with many tool and links, is part of the Schoolwires system right now at the following URL: http://schools.evergreenps.org/domain/1871 However, by this July our district is leaving Schoolwires so our library website will be changing to a Google website sometime during the Summer.  I will have the new link for it sent to Library Lions as soon as it is available.

Twitter: I have also started using Twitter to connect with educators, authors, and librarians and would love to connect with more folks!  On Twitter I am:  @jediguybrarian

                                    ~            ~          ~

 Thank you, Paul, for your terrific interview! May the force be with you!

Love Libraries? Give a Roar in “Comments” below.

Note to Librarians: If you’re a Youth Librarian working in a school or public library we’d love to hear about you and your library. Contact Janet at jlcarey@hotmail.com for an interview slot. 

 

LIBRARY GRAD STUDENTS ANSWER THE CALL

Welcome to Library Lions interviews Raising a Roar for libraries and the outstanding librarians across the U.S. This week’s Special Edition highlights the Library Program serving seniors at The Ballard Landmark. I learned about the volunteers who started this innovative program when I met Greg Bem last summer at the ALA conference.

 

Greg, Erin, Emily and Gina have stopped by Library Lions this week to tell us about the program.

In fall of 2010, four MLIS students at the iSchool at University of Washington responded to a call for help via a listserv at UW. The BallardLandmark Retirement and Senior Living Community in Seattle needed assistance with its library.

Four students responded to the request and founded the current library program: Greb Bem, Erin Boyington, Emily Small, and Gina Kessler.

Erin Boyington (photo taken at the Museum of Flight)

Emily Small

 Gina Kessler Lee

These students came together to conduct an assessment of the library collection and actively volunteer to restructure the collection, provided reader advisory services and technology instruction to the residents. The Landmark’s collection was small enough to allow for some significant library coordination from four students new to library work. After a quarter, the library had been transformed from sheer chaos to a carefully refined, regularly-weeded and regularly-developed information center. 

 

The Skinny: What inspired you to create the Ballard Landmark Senior Center program?

While we were asked to come forward from the depths of academia and participate in assisting with the Senior Center, we were given a relatively “open” space to work with. Many library science students often only rarely discover opportunities to gain practical library experience, and while the Landmark is certainly fairly limited in its scope as a library, it was a perfect jumping off pad for turning all of the theory of the classroom into practical adventures. We have learned a lot through working together to make the library more organized and user-friendly and doing outreach to the resident community. Inevitably, our relationship with residents in the Landmark inspired us to continue (and expand) our program.

Tell us about the Program

The program is run exclusively by MLIS students. Our new student volunteers are: Jessica Blanchard, Susan Fitch, Breean Kay, and Shannon Moller. Students of all backgrounds and at all stages in their graduate studies volunteer regularly, and at least one of us works at the Landmark for two hours every Saturday. Our drop-in hours are advertised to residents on their monthly activities calendar.

How the program “works” depends on which volunteer is present at the library and what the volunteer is comfortable with. Typically the program begins each week with the volunteer doing shelf-reading and basic organization of materials. There is a returns container that usually has a plethora of books for reshelving, and books have typically found strange places on the bookshelves. Magazines are weeded each week as well. The library is small, consisting of just a few hundred books, but it is a beloved resource for a few dedicated users.

After the initial review of the collection has been conducted, the volunteer then seeks out residents that need help. Whether help consists of learning an iPad application, recovering lost computer passwords, finding something new to read, or getting a book review, the volunteers at the library are happy to help. In addition to working within the library, the volunteers also help residents at the two computer workstations existing around the corner, where residents are often conducting research or checking e-mail.

 

Gina Kessler Lee with Cathy

The volunteers also help with computer set up and other basic technology needs of the residents. In addition, we have established relationships with the Seattle Public Library Mobile Services and the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library to make sure we can get books for seniors who are no longer able to get to the public library or who need large print or audiobooks (which does make up a small part of the Landmark’s collection). Last summer, we also successfully requested an acquisitions fund and were able to purchase additional books for the Landmark at the Friends of the Seattle Public Library book sale.

Our services provide small but important benefits for these seniors, from promoting reading at every age to enabling them to keep up with new technologies. Sometimes, they are just glad to have someone new to chat with. This spring, at the suggestion of one of the staff, we hope to organize a lesson on video chat through Gmail, Facetime, and Skype so that residents can communicate interactively with their families who live far away.

 

University House, a nearby senior living community, employs one MLIS student as a part-time librarian, but that librarian’s primary job is collection development. We have been trying to do programming and really emphasize personal interactions with the residents in addition to managing the collection. We would love to hear from librarians embedded in other assisted living facilities to find out what has worked for them.

Roars for the Library Program

“Great job! Many thanks!” - Betty, a resident

 “Thanks so much to your group for your help. The library is looking great. We love having you.”      - Landmark’s Director of Vitality

Residents are regularly thrilled to visit the volunteers each week and know that the library is actively being maintained and facilitated by students. It’s not uncommon for a volunteer to develop a friendship with returning residents each week. The residents regularly stop by for assistance and, in some cases, visit with the library volunteers to simply exchange stories and share information with one another. They have been especially grateful for readers advisory and computer and e-reader help we provide.

Bob and Cathy stopping by for books

When we attended the Landmark’s annual herring festival (Ballard has historically been populated by many Nordic immigrants) as a form of outreach, nearly everyone we spoke with was familiar with our work and had stories of how we had helped their friends, if not them directly. We have also implemented a suggestion box, which residents use to thank us for our work, make suggestions about the layout, and request that we add certain books to the collection.

Alki, the Washington Library Association Journal, published an article by Greg Bem about our work at the Landmark. Check out the article on page 23 of the March 2013 issue.

Library Laughs

Coming to the Landmark, you never know whom you’re going to meet! In one day, I might get a dance lesson (the resident came to us with a reference question about how to get on Ellen on TV with his dancing skills), find a new thriller for the resident who has a stuffed cat and an empty mini bottle of Wild Turkey attached to her walker, and discuss the latest celebrity drama with the residents who have come to read the latest issue of People.

Library Lion’s Roar: ONE LAST BIG ROAR

In the fall of 2011 the library volunteers started using LibraryThing  to develop a basic, online “catalog” of the library collection. While not as sophisticated as an ILS, LibraryThing has allowed volunteers to document the entire collection and prepare for a public release. It is our goal to ultimately make the LibraryThing collection available to the residents so they can search their collection using modern tools. The entire collection is recorded online, and it took many months to accomplish!

Janet - Congratulations to all of you on the accomplishment! We're Roaring for you and the whole volunteer team working on this innovative program!  

                                                           ~

Love Libraries? Give a Roar in “Comments” below.

Note to Librarians: If you’re a Youth Librarian working in a school or public library we’d love to hear about you and your library. Contact Janet at jlcarey@hotmail.com for an interview slot.